Magical Mojo
by IRiSEaGLes
Summary: Written for The Houses Competition Year 5. A Muggle Constable wanders his turf on Halloween, keeping all the 'magical' trinkets close to him. Little does he know that before the end of the night, he will be a believer.


Something strange happened every time there was a full moon on Halloween. I could count on one hand how many times it has happened since I became a constable, but each time it happened I ended up either in some sticky situation or in the hospital.

This year it is happening again and I am determined to not have it affect my duty to Queen and Country. There were times where I completely blacked out, not knowing what happened until the next day, but it always seemed to be around the end of my shift after the little ones were safely in bed.

The township I patrol is usually quiet and peaceful, though there are the odd family or two that live here. One is a bunch of ruddy redheads - a number of boys and one girl - but it is the set of matching twin boys that cause the most havoc. Then there are the blondes - a father and daughter. The daughter once told me her mum died in a 'potions accident'. I don't know exactly what she meant by that, but I can only assume she was some type of chemist.

But this night seems to have a deeper chill in the air, something is just off and I feel it in my bones. I have worked this township for over 20 years now, and only once before have I had this aching - Halloween 1981.

Us Bobbies, well we're kinda a superstitious bunch you may say. We have these little things that bring us good luck or karma or whatever you wanna call it. Be it our lucky pair of socks, a rabbit's foot, or whatever - we carry them close to us, especially on days like today.

We know all the freaks are out. But so are the wee little ones, which I am more concerned about tonight. I have done what I can beforehand, going into the primary schools and giving my safety spiel. I've had the Chief Inspector send letters to the parents and post in the newspaper, telling them what to do if they think candy isn't safe or what to look for in an unsafe house.

I grab a turnip looking thing that the little blond girl gave me a few years ago, something she said that would ward off some magical creature or nonsense. I appeased her because at the time she looked like my safety concerned her greatly. I also received an odd black ball from those twin boys once, for as they said: "_When ya need an easy escape_." They may come from odd homes, actually I don't know where their homes are, but they all were nice enough. I grab that thing, I think they called it instant night or something, just to be safe.

There is one last thing I grab. It is a picture of my wife and baby girl. Maggie May, my little princess, won't be trick-or-treating this year. She said it was for babies. Myself, I don't mind. She'll be home and safe with her mum handing out candy to all the other wee ones. She may be only ten, but she seems wise beyond her years. It is like she sees things that aren't really there, I have caught her more than once staring off towards the sky over the old marsh like she was watching an aerial football game or something.

There is something almost magical seeing the world through your child's eyes. Once I became a father, I knew that I would do anything to protect my Maggie May and all the other little ones in this township. So every year, I volunteer for Halloween duty. I walk the streets, wave down speeding cars, and genuinely do everything to keep them safe.

Tonight is no different. If anything, I am more vigilant on days like tonight. There will be over a hundred little ones, dressed as princesses or pirates, superheroes or horrifying creatures, running around the streets pandering for loot. But it is also the night where it seems like the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest, where the angels fail to roam and demons walk the darkened streets.

I was lucky tonight, that by nine - when most of the streets were cleared of kids - there had been nothing serious. All the kids were now safely tucked away in their beds, hopefully not suffering from massive tummy aches from overdosing on candy come morning.

I continued my patrol, keeping a lookout for any stray children or even the lost pet when I approached the edge of the marsh. There seemed to be lights, some type of bonfire held by the neighborhood teens I suppose, out in the distance. The night was unseasonably chilly, even showing a bit of frost on the ground, so I wandered out to investigate.

They may be a lot of teenage hooligans, but they do have school in the morning, so I head out to round them up and send them home.

But I don't get too far into the marsh when I hear a crack coming from behind me. It isn't a normal sound, like a piece of wood breaking, but a crack that you could feel through the thickness of the air. The bright moonlight was casting eerie shadows all around me but giving me adequate light to see that I didn't need my torch. I swung around to confront my possible attacker…

When I opened my eyes, I was in the hospital. Like I said before, it isn't an uncommon occurrence. I am one of the more 'gutsy' or 'stupidly brave' members of the force as my Inspector keeps reminding me. So the sterile nature of the room and the unhealthy amount of fluorescent - wait, the light around me isn't the fluorescent lighting of the closest hospital that I know of. It is something unnatural, like the light itself is emanating from the walls and ceiling, and it unnerves me.

"Tell me what you remember Constable Mattis," a soothing voice of a person who looks still to be dressed up for Halloween in a lime green robe-like thing asks. "I am Healer Thomas."

"Healer?" That sounded like some type of title, but it is unknown to me.

"Ah yes, I believe we are called doctors in the Muggle world, Constable Mattis. Now please, tell me what you remember." The person - the Healer - is a short stout woman with grey-black hair and a ruddy complexion that makes her look sickly in her getup.

"Well, I was in the old marsh - I saw something that looked like a bonfire - so I went to tell the kids to get home before they got themselves into some real trouble when there was this weird sound. The next thing I knew I only saw some yellow eyes lunging towards me before I blacked out. Now I'm here," I explain with the least amount of details as I could manage for this doctor-like person. Only my Inspector and my subsequent report will have the full story of how those eyes looked to be on an overgrown wolf-like creature that nearly mauled me to death before the redheaded twins came out of nowhere shooting at it.

"That all makes sense now that explained it to me. The Weasley twins were nice enough to bring you directly here when they found you. They had seen the attack and, well you're a Muggle and we normally don't take care of people like you, but for the twins, I made a personal concession." I wondered if this lady took a breath at any time or if she held the record for longest sentence without breathing. "So this is what I have learned from them. By the way, they are just outside if you wish to speak to them afterward. There was a skirmish at their home in Ottery St. Catchpole last night, and there was a werewolf that was seen there -"

"Did you just say werewolf?" I look at this woman, thinking she was batty.

"Yes, you were attacked by a werewolf Constable Mattis," she continued like this was an everyday talk she had with any of her patients. I can only wonder what loony bin I have found myself in this time and who is playing the prank on me. "He bit you, I am sorry to say," she continues without blinking an eye nor taking any more breaths. "Now, being a Muggle, you normally would not survive such an attack, so I need to ask if you are a Squib."

"A squid?" This lady can't be any crazier if she tried. "Do I look like a bloody sea creature?"

Chuckling, she's actually chuckling at me, she corrects, "No sir, a Squib - with a 'b'. A non-magical person from a magical family. As I said, Muggles wouldn't survive being bit by a Lycanthrope so you are quite unique. Do you have any magical relations that you know of?"

"Um, no I don't," I stumble through that simple sentence, wondering what alternate universe I landed in. This makes Dr. Who look normal.

"Alright then, well I will be back in a couple of hours then. Get some rest and eat up. I am having a special tray brought to you in about fifteen minutes. Until then, I know the Weasleys are interested in talking to you about the events from last night," and with that for a dismissal, the Healer left in a flurry of lime green robe-like wear.

There was a mass of redheads seeming to flood into my room, the matron of the lot doing most of the talking, "The boys told us what happened. Don't be afraid, there will be some adjustments you'll need to make but my boy Bill here will help you through them. He was attacked too, but it wasn't during a full moon, you poor brave man." As she is babbling away, she is also arranging my blankets and pillows like I am some sort of invalid.

"I really would like to get home," I interrupt her blathering. "I would like to see my wife and daughter."

The girl of the group, I assume it is the daughter but I hadn't seen her in a number of years now, comes up to me. "I remember your wife and daughter, I can bring them here. You are in no way able to return home in your condition. Trust the healers. This will be a big change for you and your family. So I'll get them and you can work through it together." Her brown eyes are soft and gentle, her tone relaxing. I only nod at her because if I can't get out of here, I want my family here with me.

Then the twins come up, both wearing garish and flamboyant clashing suits. I know this will cause a headache because all my interactions with them, one starts a sentence and the other finishes it.

"I'm George," the first explains.

His twin picks up immediately, "And I'm Fred. We're the ones that"-

"Found you." With each twin on opposite sides of my bed, I feel like I'm watching Wimbleton.

Ping, "That was a nasty-"

Pong, "Bite you got."

Ping, "But like mum said -"

Pong, "Bill got himself in the same way."

Ping, "We just wanted to -"

Pong, "Welcome you to the family." The one named George said as his twin patted me on the arm that wasn't wrapped in a mass of gauze.

"You're one of us now," Fred finished.

* * *

House: Snakes  
Class: Potions  
Standard  
Prompt: [First Line] Something strange happened every time there was a full moon on Halloween.  
Word Count:1923


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